Method for acquiring information and network equipment

ABSTRACT

The application provides a method for providing an internet protocol (IP) address to a terminal device by a network node. The network node receives, from the terminal device, a request for acquiring an IP address in a packet data network (PDN) connection. The request includes a requested IP address version. The network node allocates an IP address for the terminal device in response to the request, and sends the address allocated by the network node and a PDN address capability to the terminal device. The PDN address capability is determined by the network node according to the request, and the PDN address capability indicates that only an assigned version of the allocated IP address is allowed by the network node in the PDN connection.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/549,348, filed on Nov. 20, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/886,281, filed on Sep. 20, 2010. U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/886,281 is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2009/070917, filed on Mar. 20, 2009.The International Application No. PCT/CN2009/070917 claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 200810065880.5, filed on Mar. 21, 2008.The afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and moreparticularly to a method for acquiring information, User Equipment (UE),and network equipment.

BACKGROUND

In order to deal with challenges of wireless broadband technology andensure the leading position of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) network, the 3GPP has initiated the Long Term Evolution (LTE)program. Under the guidance of the LIE program, a new architecture formobile communication networks is defined, which is flatter than theexisting General Packet Radio Service/Universal MobileTelecommunications System (GPRS/UMTS), and only keeps a Packet Switched(PS) domain, and thus is called Evolved Packet System (EPS). No matterfor the current GPRS/UMTS system, the upgraded Release-8 GPRS/UMTSsystem, or the EPS network being researched, User Equipment (UE) shallbe registered into the network firstly, establish a Packet Data Protocol(PDP) context bearer or an EPS bearer, and acquire an Internet Protocol(IP) address in order to enforce PS service. The so-called PDP contextbearer or EPS bearer is a logical tunnel for transmitting variousservice data streams. The UE connects to the specific application serverin a Packet Data Network (PDN) for transmitting data packet via thebearer. Multiple bearers connected to the same PDN may be considered asone PDN connection. In a pre-Release-8 GPRS/UMTS system, the UE can onlyacquire one IP address per PDN connection; while in the Release-8GPRS/UMTS or EPS, if the UE's capability and the network equipment'scapability are allowed, the UE is able to acquire two IP addresses withdifferent IP version, that is, an IP version 4 (IPv4) address and an IPversion 6 (IPv6) address, per one PDN connection.

In the implementation of the present disclosure, the inventor finds thatwhen the first bearer of one PDN connection is established, the UE maysubsequently initiate a new process to acquire an IP address for the PDNconnection, and the IP address may be an IP address with another versionthat has not been acquired by the UE, or a new IP address. As such IPaddress acquirement process requires that the UE and network equipmentsupport certain related capabilities, it is possible that it will failfor the UE to apply for an IP address for one PDN connection when thenetwork equipment does not allow the UE to acquire two IP addresses forthe PDN connection, which results in resource waste, and even results ininterruption of an ongoing service in the PDN connection.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, in one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method foracquiring information, which includes: receiving an IP addressacquisition request or PDN address allocation information sent by a UE;determining a PDN address capability according to the IP addressacquisition request or the PDN address allocation information; andsending the determined PDN address capability to the UE.

In another aspect, the present disclosure further provides a UE, whichincludes a first sending unit, configured to send an IP addressacquisition request or PDN address allocation information to a network;and a first receiving unit, configured to receive a PDN addresscapability determined by the network according to the IP addressacquisition request or the PDN address allocation information.

In still another aspect, the present disclosure further provides networkequipment, which includes a fourth receiving unit, configured to receivean IP address acquisition request or PDN address allocation informationsent by a UE; and a fourth sending unit, configured to determine a PDNaddress capability according to the IP address acquisition request orthe PDN address allocation information, and send the determined PDNaddress capability to the UE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To illustrate the technical solutions, which are specified in theembodiments of the present disclosure or in the prior art more clearly,the accompanying drawings for describing the embodiments or the existingtechnology are introduced briefly in the following. Apparently, theaccompanying drawings in the following description are only someembodiments of the present disclosure; persons of ordinary skill in theart can deduce other drawings according to the accompanying drawingswithout paying any creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a method for acquiring informationaccording to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a method for acquiring information by a UEin a Release-8 GPRS/UMTS system according to a second embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a method for acquiring information by a UEthrough a bearer modification procedure in a Release-8 GPRS/UMTS systemaccording to a third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a method for acquiring information by a UEthrough a secondary activation procedure in a Release-8 GPRS/UMTS systemaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a method for acquiring information by a UEthrough an attachment procedure in an EPS network according to a fifthembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a method for acquiring information by a UEthrough an UE initiated PDN connection procedure in an EPS networkaccording to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a method for acquiring information by a UEthrough a bearer resource allocation message in an EPS network accordingto a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a method for acquiring information by a UEthrough a bearer update procedure in an EPS network according to aneighth embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a UE according to a ninth embodiment ofthe present disclosure and network equipment according to a tenthembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and moreparticularly to a method for acquiring information, User Equipment (UE),and network equipment. In the present disclosure, the PDN addresscapability is determined by the network and is sent to the UE, so as toinform the UE about the IP address information which can be used foracquiring IP address by the UE for the current PDN connection, so thatit will avoid service abnormality due to the UE acquiring new IP addressin other manner if the network is unable to provide other IP address tothe UE for the PDN connection.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method for acquiring information according to afirst embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following steps.

In Step 001, an IP address acquisition request or PDN address allocationinformation sent by a UE is received.

In Step 002, a PDN address capability is determined according to the IPaddress acquisition request or the PDN address allocation information.

In Step 003, the allocated PDN address capability is sent to the UE.

Referring to FIG. 2, in a second embodiment, the present disclosureprovides a method for acquiring information by a UE in a Release-8GPRS/UMTS system, which includes the following steps.

In Step 101, the UE sends an Activate PDP Context Request message to aServing GPRS Support Node (SGSN), so as to request to establish a firstbearer of a PDN connection. The Activate PDP Context Request message mayinclude one or more of the following information, IP version capabilitysupported by the UE, Access Point Name (APN) corresponding to the PDNconnection, and the requested IP address version (IPv4 or IPv6).

In Step 102, the SGSN establishes a bearer context, selects a GatewayGPRS Support Node (GGSN) for the UE, and sends a Create PDP ContextRequest message to the GGSN through a Gn/Gp interface between the SGSNand the GGSN.

In Step 103, the GGSN establishes a bearer context, and sends a CreatePDP Context Response message to the SGSN.

In the Step 103, if the GGSN receives a static IP address subscribed forthe UE provided by the SGSN in Step 102, or the GGSN allocates a dynamicIP address for the UE according to the configured IP address version forthe APN, the GGSN includes the IP address, or the IP address and the IPaddress version in the Create PDP Context Response message and sends theresponse message to the SGSN. According to an operator policy, an allzero IP address (for example, 0.0.0.0) may be included in the Create PDPContext Response message, so as to instruct the UE to subsequentlyacquire an IP address for the PDN connection in an Internet EngineeringTask Force (IETF) manner (for example, a Dynamic Host ConfigurationProtocol (DHCP)).

In Step 104, the SGSN establishes a radio access bearer corresponding tothe PDP context with a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and the UE.

In Step 105, if the Quality of Service (QoS) for the PDP context ischanged in Step 104, the SGSN includes the updated QoS in the Update PDPContext Request message, and sends the request message to the GGSN.

In Step 106, the GGSN updates the QoS, and returns an Update PDP ContextResponse message to the SGSN.

In Step 107, the SGSN sends an Activate PDP Context Accept message tothe UE, in which the message includes the IP address informationprovided by the GGSN for the UE, which may be all zero. The message mayfurther include “PDN address capability” information, and IP addressversion (IPv4, IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) and/or the IP address quantity (1 or2) which are allowed by the network for the UE to acquire for the PDNconnection, and the UE may determine new IP address version (none, IPv4,IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) and/or the IP address quantity (0, 1, or 2) that maybe subsequently applied for by the UE for the PDN connection accordingto the already acquired IP address quantity and/or version information.The “PDN address capability” information may also directly indicate thenew IP address version (none, IPv4, IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) and/or the IPaddress quantity (0, 1, or 2) that may be subsequently applied for bythe UE for the PDN connection.

In Step 107, the “PDN address capability” information provided by theSGSN for the UE may be directly determined by the SGSN. A typicaldecision method may be drawn according to one or more of the followingthree factors: 1) the IP address version information of the PDP contextcorresponding to the APN subscribed for the UE; 2) the version of GGSNselected by the SGSN (for example, a pre-Release-8 GGSN only supportsallocation of only one IP address for the UE per one PDN connection);and 3) the IP address information allocated by the GGSN for the UEduring the PDP Context Activation procedure. For example, if the PDPversion of the APN supports IPv4 and IPv6, but the SGSN selects a pre-R8GGSN, and the GGSN allocates an IPv4 address for the UE, the “PDNaddress capability” may be the IP address version available for the UE,i.e. IPv4 and/or IP address quantity available for the UE, i.e. 1, or IPaddress version available for the UE for further acquisition, i.e. noneand/or IP address quantity available for the UE for further acquisition,i.e. 0, and may also include relevant reasons, for example, equipmentcapability limitation (the pre-Release-8 GGSN can only allocate one IPaddress).

In this embodiment, the “PDN address capability” information may also bedetermined and provided by the GGSN, sent to the SGSN through the CreatePDP Context Response message in Step 103, and then sent to the UE by theSGSN through the Activate PDP Context Accept message in Step 107. Atypical determining method by the GGSN may be drawn according to thefollowing three factors: 1) the IP address version information of thePDP context corresponding to the APN of the UE configured in the GGSN;2) the version capability of the GGSN selected by the SGSN (for example,an Release-8 GGSN supports allocation of two IP addresses for the UE perone PDN connection); 3) the IP address information allocated by the GGSNfor the UE during the PDP Context Activation procedure. For example, ifthe PDP version of the APN supports IPv4 and IPv6, and the Release-8GGSN is selected, but the GGSN allocates an IPv4 address for the UE, the“PDN address capability” may be the IP address version available for theUE, i.e. IPv4/IPv6 and/or IP address quantity available for the UE, i.e.2 or IP address version available for the UE for further acquisition,i.e. IPv6 and/or IP address quantity available for the UE for furtheracquisition, i.e. 1 and may also include relevant reasons, for example,network preferences (although the network supports allocation of two IPaddresses, currently only one address is allocated).

When the GGSN instructs the UE to subsequently acquire the IP addressfor the PDN connection in an IETF manner (for example, DHCP), the “PDNaddress capability” is also applicable. At this time, when the networksupports dual stacks (for example, the GGSN is the R8 GGSN), the “PDNaddress capability” may be the IP address version=IPv4/IPv6 and/or IPaddress quantity=2 available for the UE, or IP address version=IPv4/IPv6and/or IP address quantity=2 that may be further acquired by the UE, andmay also include relevant reasons, for example, network capabilities(both the user subscription data and the network equipment supportallocation of two IP addresses).

In Step 108, after receiving the Activate PDP Context Accept message,the UE stores the “PDN address capability” information, and checkswhether the network can allocate more IP address for the UE according tothe PDN address capability. The specific determining method varies withdifferent forms of the “PDN address capability” stored by the UE: whenthe PDN address capability stored by the UE represents the IP addressversion and/or the IP address quantity available for the UE in the PDNconnection, the UE subtracts the IP address version and/or the IPaddress quantity already acquired by the UE according to the PDN addresscapability, and if the IP address version information is not none or theIP address quantity is not 0 after subtraction, the network can allocatemore IP address for the UE; and when the PDN address capability storedby the UE represents the IP address version and/or the IP addressquantity that may be subsequently acquired by the UE in the PDNconnection, if the address version information is not none or theaddress quantity is not 0, the UE may directly determine whether thenetwork can allocate more IP address for the UE according to theinformation, and at this time, after acquiring a new IP address, the UEupdates the stored PDN address capability. The relevant reasoninstruction provided by the network may also assist the UE to understandwhether the network can allocate the IP address for the UE. When the UEcan still acquire an IP address for the PDN connection, if the UE uses anew IP address, for example, with another IP version for specificservice, the UE acquires the IP address with the required version forthe PDN connection. Particularly, the UE may acquire the IP address byperforming an IETF signaling procedure for special IP address versionaccording to the instruction, for example, if the network allows toacquire an IPv4 address, the UE may initiate a DHCPv4 procedure toacquire the IPv4 address; if the network allows to acquire an IPv6address, the UE may initiate a DHCPv6 procedure to acquire the IPv6address; and if the network allows to acquire both the IPv4 address andthe IPv6 address, the UE may respectively initiate the DHCPv4 procedureand the DHCPv6 procedure to acquire the IPv4 address and the IPv6address. The specific method for acquiring the IP address is describedin other embodiments of the present disclosure, so that the details willnot be described here again. If the UE determines that the addressversion information that may be subsequently acquired by the UE is none,or the address quantity is 0 according to the PDN address capability, itrepresents that the network cannot continue providing the IP address forthe UE, and the UE does not initiate any IP address acquisitionprocedure subsequently.

Through the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the UE supportingdual stacks (IP addresses of two different versions may be acquired inone PDN connection) accesses a pre-R8 GGSN or an R8 GGSN through an R8SGSN, the network instructs to the UE the IP address information thatmay be acquired in the current PDN connection, such that when thenetwork cannot provide an IP address for the UE any more, the UE isprevented from acquiring other IP addresses in other manners to resultin service abnormality.

The embodiment is applied to the R8 GRPS/UMTS system, and afterestablishing a first bearer of a certain PDN connection, the UE maydetermine whether the network can continue providing the IP address forthe UE according to the “PDN address capability” information providedfor the UE in Step 107 of the second embodiment, so as to initiate therelevant procedure to acquire the IP address with specific version whenrequiring to use a new IP address. If the UE determines that the addressversion information that may be subsequently acquired by the UE is notnone, or the address quantity is not 0 according to the PDN addresscapability, it represents that the network can allocate more IP addressfor the UE.

The following third and fourth embodiments provide a method foracquiring information from a network by a UE in cases of modifying a PDPcontext and activating a secondary PDP context.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the third embodiment, the present disclosureprovides a method for acquiring information by a UE through a bearermodification process in an R8 GPRS/UMTS system.

In Step 200, the UE determines whether the network can continueproviding an IP address for the UE according to a PDN addresscapability. A specific determining step is the same as Step 108, and ifa new IP address may be acquired, Step 201 is executed; otherwise, theprocess is ended.

The PDN address capability may be acquired during a procedure in whichthe UE acquires the IP address from the network for the first time, forexample, through the solution provided in the second embodiment, or maybe PDN address capability locally configured in the UE to represent IPaddress version and/or IP address quantity available for the UE in a PDNconnection.

In Step 201, the UE sends a Modify PDP Context Request message to anSGSN, in which the message may include IP address version information(IPv4, IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) requested by the UE. The UE selects anybearer in the PDN connection to initiate a modification process, andusually selects the first bearer of the PDN connection.

In Step 202, the SGSN sends an Update PDP Context Request message to aGGSN, in which the message may include the IP address version requestedby the UE.

In Step 203, the GGSN allocates an IP address of the correspondingversion for the UE according to the IP address version requested by theUE, and includes the IP address in an Update PDP Context Responsemessage and sends the response message to the SGSN. According to anoperator policy, the GGSN may also instruct the UE to acquire the IPaddress of the corresponding version in an IETF manner (for example,DHCP) after the bearer modification process, the instruction may beimplemented by providing an all zero IP address by the GGSN, or may beimplemented by providing an “IETF address allocation” instruction, andthe instruction may be included in the Update PDP Context Responsemessage and sent to the SGSN.

In Step 204, the SGSN sends a Modify PDP Context Accept message to theUE, in which the message includes the IP address or informationinstructing the UE to acquire the IP address in the IETF mannerallocated by the GGSN for the UE. The UE stores the IP address allocatedby the GGSN, or initiates an IETF procedure to acquire the IP addressaccording to the IETF manner provided by the GGSN.

In Step 204, after the UE acquires the IP address or acquires the IPaddress in the subsequent IETF manner, if the stored “PDN addresscapability” is the IP address version and/or the IP address quantitythat may be further acquired by the UE, the “PDN address capability”information stored in the UE is updated. For example, the UE haspreviously acquired an IPv4 address during the PDP activation procedure,the stored “PDN address capability” is the IP address version=IPv6and/or the IP address quantity=1 that may be further acquired by the UE,and when the UE acquires an IPv6 address in Step 204 or the subsequentIETF process through the method of the second embodiment, the UE updatethe stored “PDN address capability” to be the IP address version=noneand/or the IP address quantity=0 that may be further acquired by the UE.

When the stored “PDN address capability” is IP address version and/or IPaddress quantity available for the UE, the update procedure will not beperformed, and the UE may determine the IP address version and/or the IPaddress quantity that may be further acquired by the UE according to the“PDN address capability” information and the already acquired IP addressinformation.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the fourth embodiment, the present disclosureprovides a method for acquiring information by a UE through a SecondaryPDP Context Activation procedure in an R8 GPRS/UMTS system.

In Step 300, the UE determines whether the network can continueproviding an IP address for the UE according to a “PDN addresscapability”. A specific determining step is the same as Step 108, and ifa new IP address may be acquired, Step 301 is executed; otherwise, theprocess is ended.

In Step 301, the UE sends an Activate Secondary PDP Context Requestmessage to a SGSN, in which the message may include an IP addressversion (IPv4, IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) requested by the UE, so as toinstruct the network to allocate the IP address of the correspondingversion for the UE.

In Step 302, the SGSN sends a Create PDP Context Request message to aGGSN, in which message may include the IP address version requested bythe UE.

In Step 303, the GGSN establishes a PDP context, allocates an IP addressof the version corresponding to a PDN connection for the UE according tothe IP address version requested by the UE, and includes the IP addressin a Create PDP Context Response message and sends the response messageto the SGSN. According to an operator policy, the GGSN may also instructthe UE to acquire the IP address of the corresponding version in an IETFmanner (for example, DHCP) after the secondary PDP activation procedure,the instruction may be implemented by providing an all zero IP addressby the GGSN for the UE, or may be implemented by providing an “IETFaddress allocation” instruction for the UE, and the instruction may beincluded in the Create PDP Context Response message, and the responsemessage is sent to the SGSN.

In Step 304, the SGSN establishes a radio access bearer corresponding tothe PDP context with an RNC and the UE.

In Step 305, if in Step 304, a QoS is changed, the SGSN includes theupdated QoS in an Update PDP Context Request message and sends therequest message to the GGSN.

In Step 306, the GGSN sends an Update PDP Context Response message tothe SGSN.

In Step 307, the SGSN sends an Activate Secondary PDP Context Acceptmessage to the UE, in which the message includes the IP address and/orinformation of instructing the UE to acquire the IP address in the IETFmanner allocated by the GGSN for the UE. The UE stores the IP addressallocated by the GGSN, or initiates an IETF process to acquire the IPaddress according to the IETF allocation manner provided by the GGSN.

In Step 307, after the UE acquires the IP address or acquires the IPaddress in the subsequent IETF manner, if the stored “PDN addresscapability” is the IP address version and/or the IP address quantitythat may be further acquired by the UE, the “PDN address capability”information stored in the UE is updated. A processing manner is similarto that of the second embodiment, so that the details will not bedescribed here again.

When the UE accesses an EPS network, during a bearer setup procedure fora PDN connection, IP addresses of the UE of two different versions maybe allocated for the PDN connection of the UE, or only one IP address orno IP address is allocated for the UE according to the capability of theUE and the operator policy. Therefore, during the establishmentprocedure of a default bearer (that is, a first bearer), “PDN addresscapability” information is provided by the network for the UE, so as toindicate to the UE whether a new IP address can be subsequently appliedfor in the PDN connection.

Referring to FIG. 5, in a fifth embodiment, the present disclosureprovides a method for acquiring information from a network by a UEduring the attach procedure in an EPS network.

In Step 401, the UE sends an Attach Request message to a MobilityManagement Entity (MME), in which the message carries PDN addressallocation information, and the PDN address allocation informationincludes IP version capability information supported by the UE and aninstruction whether an address is required to be allocated for the UEduring the procedure.

In Step 402, a location update procedure is executed between the MME anda Home Subscriber Server (HSS), subscription data of the user isacquired, and the MME is registered to the HSS, in which thesubscription data may include a default APN of the UE, and IP addressversion information for the bearer.

In Step 403, during the attach procedure, according to the default APNsubscribed for the UE, a default bearer is established for the UE, andthe MME sends a Default Bearer Setup Request message to a ServingGateway (S-GW), in which the message includes the supported IP versioncapability information provided by the UE, and the APN.

In Step 404, the S-GW sends a Default Bearer Setup Request message to aPacket Data Network Gateway (P-GW), in which the message includes thesupported IP version capability information provided by the UE, and theAPN.

In Step 405, the P-GW establishes a context for the default bearer, andsends a Default Bearer Setup Response message to the S-GW. When the PDNaddress allocation information provided by the UE instructs that anaddress is required to be allocated for the UE in the procedure, an IPaddress is allocated for the UE according to the IP version capabilitysupported by the UE and an operator policy, and the IP address isincluded in the message and the response message is sent to the S-GW.When the PDN address allocation information provided by the UE instructsthat no address is required to be allocated for the UE in the process,no IP address is allocated for the UE in this step.

The message may further include “PDN address capability” information.The information may be used for providing IP address version (IPv4,IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) and/or IP address quantity (1 or 2) available forthe UE in the PDN connection allowed by the network for the UE, and theUE may determine IP address version and/or quantity that may besubsequently acquired by the UE in the PDN connection according to thealready acquired IP address quantity and/or version information. Theinformation may also be used for instructing new IP address version(none, IPv4, IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) and/or quantity (0, 1, or 2) that maybe subsequently applied for by the UE in the PDN connection.

The PDN address capability is determined according to the UE capabilityand the network capability, and a typical method for determining the“PDN address capability” information by the P-GW may be obtainedaccording to one or two of the following two factors: 1) the addressversion information of the bearer or the IP connection corresponding tothe APN of the UE configured in the P-GW; and 2) the IP addressinformation allocated by the P-GW for the UE during the beareractivation procedure. For example, if the address version information ofthe bearer or the IP connection of the APN supports IPv4 and IPv6, butthe P-GW allocates an IPv4 address for the UE, the “PDN addresscapability” may be the IP address version=IPv4/IPv6 and/or IP addressquantity=2 available for the UE, or IP address version=IPv6 and/or IPaddress quantity=1 that may be further acquired by the UE, and may alsoinclude relevant reasons, for example, network preferences (e.g.although the network supports allocation of two IP addresses, currentlyonly one address is allocated).

Similar to the first embodiment, the “PDN address capability” providedfor the UE may be directly determined by the MME according to 1) theaddress version information of the EPS bearer corresponding to the APNsubscribed by the UE; and 2) the IP address information allocated by theP-GW for the UE during the default Bearer Setup procedure. Since theP-GW always supports the function of allocating IP addresses of twoversions, the version of the P-GW will not be determined. The relevantprocessing is the same as that of Step 107, so that the details will notbe described here again.

In Step 406, the S-GW sends a Default Bearer Setup Response message tothe MME, in which the message includes the IP address of the UE and the“PDN address capability” information provided by the P-GW.

In Step 407, the MME sends an Attach Accept message to an evolved basestation (eNodeB), and sends the IP address of the UE provided by theP-GW to the eNodeB. The message may further include the “PDN addresscapability” information provided by the P-GW.

In Step 408, the eNodeB sends a Radio Bearer Setup Request message tothe UE, and sends the IP address of the UE provided by the P-GW to theUE. The message may further include the “PDN address capability”information provided by the P-GW.

After receiving the Radio Bearer Setup Request (including an AttachAccept content) message, the UE stores the “PDN address capability”information, and determines whether the network can continue providingthe IP address for the UE according to the PDN address capability. Aspecific determining method is the same as that of Step 108, so that thedetails will not be described here again.

In Step 409, the UE sends a Radio Bearer Setup Response message to theeNodeB.

In Step 410, the eNodeB sends an Attach Complete message to the MME, inwhich the message includes downlink routing information provided by theeNodeB.

In Step 411, the MME sends an Update Bearer Request to the S-GW, andupdates the downlink routing information provided by the eNodeB to theS-GW.

In Step 412, the S-GW sends an Update Bearer Response message to theMME.

Referring to FIG. 6, in a sixth embodiment, the present disclosureprovides a method for acquiring information by a UE through an UErequested PDN connectivity procedure in an EPS network

In Step 501, the UE initiates a PDN connectivity Request message to aMME, so as to request to establish a default bearer of a PDN connection.The message may include PDN address allocation information, including IPversion capability information supported by the UE and an instructionwhether an address is required to be allocated for the UE during theprocedure, and may further include an APN.

In Step 502, the MME sends a Default Bearer Setup Request message to anS-GW, in which the message includes the supported IP version capabilityinformation provided by the UE, and the APN.

In Step 503, the S-GW sends a default Bearer Setup request message to aP-GW, in which the message includes the supported IP version capabilityinformation provided by the UE, and the APN.

In Step 504, the P-GW establishes a default bearer context of the PDNconnection for the UE, and sends a default Bearer Setup response messageto the S-GW. When the PDN address allocation information provided by theUE instructs that an address is required to be allocated for the UEduring the procedure, an IP address is allocated for the UE according tothe IP version capability supported by the UE and an operator policy,and the IP address is included in the default Bearer Setup responsemessage and the response message is sent to the S-GW. When the PDNaddress allocation information provided by the UE instructs that noaddress is required to be allocated for the UE in the process, no IPaddress is allocated for the UE in the step.

The message may further include “PDN address capability” information.The information may be used for providing IP address version (IPv4,IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) and/or IP address quantity (1 or 2) available forthe UE in the PDN connection allowed by the network for the UE, and theUE may determine IP address version and/or quantity that may besubsequently acquired by the UE for the PDN connection according to thealready acquired IP address quantity and/or version information. Theinformation may also be used for instructing new IP address version(none, IPv4, IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) and/or quantity (0, 1, or 2) that maybe subsequently applied for by the UE for the PDN connection.

The PDN address capability is determined according to the UE capabilityand the network capability. The method for determining the “PDN addresscapability” information by the P-GW is similar to the determining methodin the fifth embodiment, so that the details will not be described hereagain.

In Step 505, the S-GW sends a default Bearer Setup response message tothe MME, in which the message includes the IP address of the UE and the“PDN address capability” information provided by the P-GW.

In Step 506, the MIME sends a Bearer Setup Request message to an eNodeB,and sends the IP address of the UE provided by the P-GW to the eNodeB.The message may further include the “PDN address capability” informationprovided by the P-GW.

In Step 507, the eNodeB sends a radio Bearer Setup request message tothe UE, and sends the IP address of the UE provided by the P-GW to theUE. The message may further include the “PDN address capability”information provided by the P-GW.

After receiving the radio Bearer Setup request message, the UE storesthe “PDN address capability” information, and determines whether thenetwork can continue providing the IP address for the UE according tothe PDN address capability. A specific determining method is the same asthat of Step 108, so that the details will not be described here again.

In Step 508, the UE sends a radio Bearer Setup response message to theeNodeB.

In Step 509, the eNodeB sends a Bearer Setup Response message to theMME, in which the message includes downlink routing information providedby the eNodeB.

In Step 510, the MME sends an Update Bearer Request to the S-GW, andupdates the downlink routing information provided by the eNodeB to theS-GW.

In Step 511, the S-GW sends a Update Bearer Response message to the MME.

In the fifth embodiment and the sixth embodiment, the present disclosureprovides a method for acquiring information by a UE in an EPS network.In the embodiments, during the default Bearer Setup procedure, thenetwork provides “PDN address capability” information for the UE, so asto indicate to the UE whether another IP addresses can be acquired inthe PDN connection, such that when the network does not allow the UE toacquire more than one IP address, the UE is prevented from initiating anIP address acquisition process to result in resource waste.

The fifth embodiment and the sixth embodiment are applied to the EPSnetwork, and after the UE establishes the default bearer of a specificPDN connection, the UE may initiate the relevant process of acquiringthe IP address of the corresponding version when requiring to acquire anew IP address, according to the “PDN address capability” informationprovided for the UE in the embodiments. The following seventh and eighthembodiments provide a method for acquiring an IP address from a networkby a UE after a default bearer of a PDN connection is established.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the seventh embodiment, the present disclosureprovides a method for acquiring information by a UE through a bearerresource allocation message in an EPS network.

In Step 600, the UE determines whether the network can continueproviding an IP address for the UE according to a PDN addresscapability. A specific determining step is the same as Step 108, and ifa new IP address may be acquired, Step 601 is executed; otherwise, theprocess is ended.

In Step 601, the UE sends a bearer resource allocation request messageto a MME. The message includes a linked bearer ID, in which the ID maybe an ID of any bearer in the PDN connection, and usually is the defaultbearer ID of the PDN connection. The message may further include an IPaddress version (IPv4, IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) requested by the UE, so as toinstruct the network to allocate the IP address of the correspondingversion for the UE.

In Step 602, the MME sends a bearer resource allocation request messageto an S-GW, in which the message may include the IP address versionrequested by the UE.

In Step 603, the S-GW sends a bearer resource allocation request messageto a P-GW, in which the message may include the IP address versionrequested by the UE.

In Step 604, the P-GW allocates an IP address of the correspondingversion for the UE according to the IP address version requested by theUE, and includes the IP address in a bearer resource allocation responsemessage and sends the response message to the S-GW. According to anoperator policy, the P-GW may instruct the UE to acquire the IP addressof the corresponding version in an IETF manner (for example, DHCP) afterthe resource allocation request procedure, the instruction may beimplemented by providing an all zero IP address by the P-GW, or may beimplemented by providing an “IETF address allocation” instruction, andthe instruction may included in the bearer resource allocation responsemessage and sent to the S-GW.

In Step 605, the S-GW includes the IP address or the instruction ofacquiring the IP address in the IETF manner allocated by the P-GW in abearer resource allocation response message and sends the responsemessage to the MME.

In Step 606, the MME includes the IP address or the instruction ofacquiring the IP address in the IETF manner allocated by the P-GW in abearer resource allocation response message and sends the responsemessage to the UE. The UE stores the IP address allocated by the P-GW,or initiates an IETF process to acquire the IP address according to theIETF allocation manner provided by the P-GW.

In Step 606, after the UE acquires the IP address or acquires the IPaddress in the subsequent IETF manner, if the stored “PDN addresscapability” is the IP address version and/or the IP address quantitythat may be further acquired by the UE, the “PDN address capability”information recorded in the UE is updated. A processing manner issimilar to that of the third embodiment, so that the details will not bedescribed here again.

When the P-GW receives the bearer resource allocation request messagesent by the S-GW, the P-GW may notify the UE of the IP address of the UEthrough a bearer update procedure. Referring to FIG. 8, in the eighthembodiment, the present disclosure provides a method for acquiringinformation by a UE through a bearer update procedure in an EPS network.

In Step 700, the UE determines whether the network can continueproviding an IP address for the UE according to a PDN addresscapability. A specific determining step is the same as Step 108, and ifa new IP address may be acquired, Step 701 is executed; otherwise, theprocess is ended.

In Step 701, the UE sends a bearer resource allocation request messageto an MME. The message includes a linked bearer ID, in which the ID maybe an ID of any bearer in the PDN connection, and usually is the defaultbearer ID of the PDN connection. The message may further include an IPaddress version (IPv4, IPv6, or IPv4/IPv6) requested by the UE, so as toinstruct the network to allocate the IP address of the correspondingversion for the UE.

In Step 702, the MME sends a bearer resource allocation request messageto an S-GW, in which the message may include the IP address versionrequested by the UE.

In Step 703, the S-GW sends a bearer resource allocation request messageto a P-GW, in which the message may include the IP address versionrequested by the UE.

In Step 704, the P-GW allocates an IP address of the correspondingversion for the UE according to the IP address version requested by theUE, and includes the IP address in an Update Bearer Request message andsends the request message to the S-GW. According to an operator policy,the P-GW may instruct the UE to acquire the IP address of thecorresponding version in an IETF manner (for example, DHCP) after theresource allocation request process, the instruction may be implementedby providing an all zero IP address by the P-GW, or may be implementedby providing an “IETF address allocation” instruction, and theinstruction may be included in the Update Bearer Request message and therequest message is sent to the S-GW.

In Step 705, the S-GW includes the IP address or the instruction ofacquiring the IP address in the IETF manner allocated by the P-GW in anUpdate Bearer Request message sends the request message to the MME.

In Step 706, the MME includes the IP address or the instruction ofacquiring the IP address in the IETF manner allocated by the P-GW in abearer update request message and sends the request message to the UE.The UE stores the IP address allocated by the P-GW, or initiates an IETFprocess to acquire the IP address according to the IETF allocationmanner provided by the P-GW.

In Step 706, after the UE acquires the IP address or acquires the IPaddress in the subsequent IETF manner (the process may be executed afterStep 709), if the stored “PDN address capability” is the IP addressversion and/or the IP address quantity that may be further acquired bythe UE, the “PDN address capability” information stored in the UE isupdated. A processing manner is similar to that of the third embodiment,so that the details will not be described here again.

In Step 707, the UE sends a bearer update response message to the MME.

In Step 708, the MME sends an Update Bearer Response message to theS-GW.

In Step 709, the S-GW sends an Update Bearer Response message to theP-GW.

Referring to FIG. 9, in a ninth embodiment, the present disclosureprovides a UE 800, which includes a first sending unit 801 and a firstreceiving unit 802.

The first sending unit 801 is configured to send an IP addressacquisition request or PDN address allocation information to a network.The first receiving unit 802 is configured to receive a PDN addresscapability allocated by the network according to the IP addressacquisition request or the PDN address allocation information.

If the PDN address allocation information includes an instruction thatan IP address is required to be allocated for the UE or the firstsending unit sends the IP address acquisition request to the network,the UE further includes a second receiving unit 804, configured toreceive the allocated IP address or an instruction of a manner ofacquiring the IP address sent by the network.

The UE further includes a determining unit 803, configured to determinewhether a request of acquiring an IP address in a PDN connection may beinitiated according to the PDN address capability.

When the determining unit 803 determines that the IP address in the PDNmay be acquired, the UE further includes a third sending unit 805,configured to send an IP address request message to the network; and athird receiving unit 806, configured to receive the IP address or theinstruction of the manner of acquiring the IP address allocated by thenetwork.

The PDN address capability includes all IP address versions and/or totalIP address quantity available for the UE in the PDN connection allowedby the network; or remaining IP address versions and/or remaining IPaddress quantity available for the UE in the PDN connection allowed bythe network. When the PDN address capability includes the remaining IPaddress versions and/or remaining IP address quantity available for theUE in the PDN connection allowed by the network, the UE further includesa modifying unit 807, configured to modify the PDN address capabilityaccording to the received IP address allocated by the network.

In one case, the third sending unit 805 includes a PDP contextmodification request sending unit, configured to send a Modify PDPContext Request message to the network, in which the Modify PDP contextRequest message includes requested IP address version information; andthe third receiving unit 806 includes a PDP context modification acceptreceiving unit, configured to receive a Modify PDP Context Acceptmessage sent by the network, in which the message includes the IPaddress or the instruction of the manner of acquiring the IP addressallocated by the network.

In another case, the third sending unit 805 includes a secondary PDPcontext activation request sending unit, configured to send an ActivateSecondary PDP Context Request message to the network, in which theActivate Secondary PDP Context Request message includes the requested IPaddress version information; and the third receiving unit 806 includes asecondary PDP context activation accept receiving unit, configured toreceive a Activate Secondary PDP Context Accept message sent by thenetwork, in which the Activate Secondary PDP Context Accept messageincludes the IP address or the instruction of the manner of acquiringthe IP address allocated by the network.

In still another case, the third sending unit 805 includes a firstbearer resource allocation request sending unit, configured to send abearer resource allocation request message to the network, in which thebearer resource allocation request message includes the requested IPaddress version information; and the third receiving unit 806 includes abearer resource allocation response receiving unit, configured toreceive a bearer resource allocation response message sent by thenetwork, in which the bearer resource allocation response messageincludes the IP address or the instruction of the manner of acquiringthe IP address allocated by the network.

In yet still another case, the third sending unit 805 includes a secondbearer resource allocation request sending unit, configured to send abearer resource allocation request message to the network, in which thebearer resource allocation request message includes the requested IPaddress version information; and the third receiving unit 806 includes abearer update request receiving unit, configured to receive a bearerupdate request message sent by the network, in which the bearer updaterequest message includes the IP address or the instruction of the mannerof acquiring the IP address allocated by the network.

Referring to FIG. 9, in a tenth embodiment, the present disclosureprovides network equipment, which includes a fourth receiving unit 901and a fourth sending unit 902.

The fourth receiving unit 901 is configured to receive an IP addressacquisition request or PDN address allocation information sent by a UE.The fourth sending unit 902 is configured to allocate a PDN addresscapability for the UE according to the IP address acquisition request orthe PDN address allocation information, and send the allocated PDNaddress capability to the UE.

If the PDN address allocation information includes an instruction thatan IP address is required to be allocated for the UE or the fourthreceiving unit 901 receives the IP address acquisition request, thenetwork equipment further includes a fifth sending unit 903, configuredto send the allocated IP address or an instruction of a manner ofacquiring the IP address to the UE.

If the PDN address capability instructs that the UE is capable offurther acquiring an IP address in a PDN connection, the networkequipment further includes a sixth receiving unit 904, configured toreceive a request of acquiring an IP address in the PDN connectioninitiated by the UE; and a sixth sending unit 905, configured toallocate the IP address or an instruction of a manner of acquiring theIP address for the UE.

The network equipment is a GGSN, the sixth receiving unit 904 includes aPDP context modification request receiving unit, configured to receive aModify PDP Context Request message sent by the UE, in which the ModifyPDP Context Request message includes IP address version informationrequested by the UE; and the sixth sending unit 905 includes a PDPcontext modification accept sending unit, configured to send a PDPcontext modification accept message to the UE, in which the messageincludes the IP address or the instruction of the manner of acquiringthe IP address allocated for the UE.

The network equipment is a GGSN, the sixth receiving unit 904 includes asecondary PDP context activation request receiving unit, configured toreceive an Activate Secondary PDP Context Request message sent by theUE, in which the Activate Secondary PDP Context Request message includesthe IP address version information requested by the UE; and the sixthsending unit 905 includes a secondary PDP context activation acceptsending unit, configured to send an Activate Secondary PDP ContextAccept message to the UE, in which the Activate Secondary PDP ContextAccept message includes the IP address or the instruction of the mannerof acquiring the IP address allocated for the UE.

The network equipment is a P-GW, the sixth receiving unit 904 includes afirst bearer resource allocation request receiving unit, configured toreceive a bearer resource allocation request message sent by the UE, inwhich the bearer resource allocation request message includes the IPaddress version information requested by the UE; and the sixth sendingunit 905 includes a bearer resource allocation response sending unit,configured to send a bearer resource allocation response message to theUE, in which the bearer resource allocation response message includesthe IP address or the instruction of the manner of acquiring the IPaddress allocated for the UE.

The network equipment is a P-GW, the sixth receiving unit 904 includes asecond bearer resource allocation request receiving unit, configured toreceive a bearer resource allocation request message sent by the UE, inwhich the bearer resource allocation request message includes the IPaddress version information requested by the UE; and the sixth sendingunit 905 includes a bearer update request sending unit, configured tosend a bearer update request message to the UE, in which the bearerupdate request message includes the IP address or the instruction of themanner of acquiring the IP address allocated for the UE.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand that all or apart of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be implemented by a program instructing relevanthardware such as a processor. The program may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium. The storage medium may be a Read-Only Memory(ROM), a magnetic disk, or a Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM).

It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the present disclosurewithout departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view ofthe foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure covermodifications and variations of the present disclosure provided theyfall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing an internet protocol (IP)address to a terminal device, comprising: receiving, by a network nodefrom the terminal device, a request for acquiring an IP address in apacket data network (PDN) connection, the request comprising a requestedIP address version; allocating, by the network node, an IP address forthe terminal device in response to the request; and sending, by thenetwork node, the IP address allocated by the network node and a PDNaddress capability to the terminal device; wherein the PDN addresscapability is determined by the network node according to the request,and the PDN address capability indicates that only an assigned versionof the allocated IP address is allowed by the network node in the PDNconnection.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the IP addressallocated by the network node is an all zero IP address, and the allzero IP address is used to instruct the terminal device to acquire anactual IP address for the PDN connection in a manner specified by theInternet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
 3. The method according to claim1, wherein the request for acquiring the IP address is a PDNconnectivity request.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein therequest for acquiring the IP address further comprises an access pointname (APN) corresponding to the PDN connection.
 5. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the network node is a packet data network gateway(PGW).
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the allocated IPaddress is an IP version 4 (IPv4) address or an IP version 6 (IPv6)address.
 7. A network node, comprising: a transceiver, configured toreceive, from a terminal device, a request for acquiring an internetprotocol (IP) address in a packet data network (PDN) connection, therequest comprising a requested IP address version; and a processor,configured to determine a PDN address capability and allocate an IPaddress for the terminal device according to the request; wherein thetransceiver is further configured to send the allocated IP address andthe PDN address capability to the terminal device, and wherein the PDNaddress capability indicates that only an assigned version of theallocated IP address is allowed by the network node in the PDNconnection.
 8. The network node according to claim 7, wherein theallocated IP address is an all zero IP address, and the all zero IPaddress is used to instruct the terminal device to acquire an actual IPaddress for the PDN connection in a manner specified by the InternetEngineering Task Force (IETF).
 9. The network node according to claim 7,wherein the request for acquiring the IP address is a PDN connectivityrequest.
 10. The network node according to claim 7, wherein the requestfor acquiring the IP address further comprises an access point name(APN) corresponding to the PDN connection.
 11. The network nodeaccording to claim 7, wherein the network node is a packet data networkgateway (PGW).
 12. The network node according to claim 7, wherein theallocated IP address is an IP version 4 (IPv4) address or an IP version6 (IPv6) address.
 13. A computer program product comprising anon-transitory computer readable storage medium storing program codethereon for use by a network node, the program code comprisinginstructions for executing a method that comprises: receiving, from aterminal device, a request for acquiring an IP address in a packet datanetwork (PDN) connection, the request comprising a requested IP addressversion; allocating an IP address for the terminal device according tothe request; and sending the allocated IP address and a PDN addresscapability to the terminal device; wherein the PDN address capability isdetermined by the network node according to the request, and the PDNaddress capability indicates that only an assigned version of theallocated IP address is allowed by the network node in the PDNconnection.
 14. The computer program product according to claim 13,wherein the IP address allocated by the network node is an all zero IPaddress, and the all zero IP address is used to instruct the terminaldevice to acquire an actual IP address for the PDN connection in amanner specified by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
 15. Thecomputer program product according to claim 13, wherein the request foracquiring the IP address is a PDN connectivity request.
 16. The computerprogram product according to claim 13, wherein the request for acquiringthe IP address further comprises an access point name (APN)corresponding to the PDN connection.
 17. The computer program productaccording to claim 13, wherein the network node is a packet data networkgateway (PGW).
 18. The computer program product according to claim 13,wherein the allocated IP address is an IP version 4 (IPv4) address or anIP version 6 (IPv6) address.